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N. P. BARLOW, A. B. 















THE SHUNEMITE MAID 

in the 

Court of David and Solomon 

in the 

Mountains of Gilead 

in the 

Song of Solomon 


N. P. BARLOW, A. B. 
tv 

Greenville, Mich. 


1916 






Preface 

He who sees from a new angle may discover new things. 


/ 

Copyrighted 1916 
N. P. BARLOW, A. B. 


TRACY & K I LG OK 1C 
PRINTERS 
MADISON, AVIS. 

Oci.D 43015 

FEB 12 1916 


^ 7 ^/. 


The Shunemite 

Scene. 

T/j<? Shunemite Maid with her Sheep. Song of Solomon , 1—7\ 8. 

| O ye blessed, helpless, trusting sheep, 

Ye are my joy, my song, my life. 

Soon we shall see the sheepfold walled secure 
And find repose safe from the wild,— 

Shall see my father come before to greet us home. 

I see him now stalwart and strong; 

But something agitates; eager he seems. 

Yes Father, we are here, a larger flock 
Than when we went in early morning. 

Two yeanlings came to swell the number. 

But one was weak and so I have him in my arms. 

Father. 

Great things have happened unto us this day. 

King David’s servants have come to us, 

Because thy health and beauty 

Are the common speech of ail the region. 

They seek for him the fairest damsel 

To minister in his presence and cherish his old age. 

And now they wait, those mighty men, 

High in the favor of the court,— 

My daughter, they wait beneath our humble roof, 

To test by sight the sayings they have heard, 

And choose as they shall see. 

They have an ewer, broad and golden, for thy bath, 
Ointment of spikenard far brought by merchantmen, 

Cakes of the finest of the wheat, 


White honey from Engdi’s rocks, 

Pearls from the deeps between the isles of Joppa, 

Bracelets of gold wrought by Tyrian smiths. 

Fine linen and purple wool from Zidon. 

For once, my daughter, bedeck thyself in glory— 

Eat of the daintest that the earth can yield; 

Such as may become thy charms, 

And that thy beauty captivate the eyes 
Of these the envoys of the King; 

And thou be chosen to minister before him. 

The Shunemite Maid. 

O my father, these words distress my soul. 

And must I be an exile from my father’s house, 

The place where I was born P— 

This place is more than all the world to me,— 

The place from whence my mother passed to the blessed, 
The place my father lives, more to me than any king,— 
And all these trusting helpless sheep, 

These lambkins rescued from the vultures! — 

Ah me, my soul is sore distress’t. It cannot be. 

Say to great David’s messengers “Long live ihe King. ” 
“The damsel chooses still her father’s house.” 

And as their eyes have not beheld my face, 

And they have seen so many fairer 

All eager to be chosen; let the honor and the joy 

Fall to whom it cometh welcome. 

But now I pray them, let me stay with thee. 

Father. 

Nay, nay my daughter, 

We may not so dismiss the messengers of kings. 

Our tribe is small in Israel, and in our tribe, 

The tribe of Issachear, our house is small; 

And such an answer sent from thee 
Would rouse their anger. But hasten now, 

This thy delay may grind their patience. 

— 4 — 


The Shunemite Maid. 

Father, with leal and true obedience I do thy bidding. 
But while I wash and decorate myself, 

Do thou devoutly pray that I be left with thee; 

And sharpen thou thy faith upon my heart’s keen longing, 
That God may show his pity to my timid heart. 

When the fierce wolf threatens the flock, 

I stand between with steady gaze, 

And send him to his den again unfed. 

But these so many eyes of princes high, 

And noble dames, affright me as a lamb 
Far wandered from the flock. 


Scene. 

Father to Messengers. 

O ye lords of the realm and messengers of David, 
This is my daughter. But pale fear and tears 
Have marred and dimmed her beauty. 

Erst beaming as the morning over Gilead. 

First Messenger. 

‘‘She is exceeding fair.” 

Second Messenger. 

“In form and feature.” 

Third Messenger. 

“In grace and dignity.” 

Scene. 

The Shunemite Maid to her Father. 

What say the men? How have they decided? 

— 5 — 


Father. 

They say that they have passed 
Through all the land of Isreal 
And have not found such loveliness. 

The Shunemite Maid. 

Ah me, ah me! 

Would God I had been black as Hagar, 

Or that mine eyes were red and weak like Leah’s 
For then some low born son of Issachar 
Had taken great compassion on my state, 

And all my life were here, and blest. 

But now my beauty hath sealed my captivity. 

Henceforth my name shall be Abi-shaga ,— 

(Whom my father caused to wander.) 

Now I may look for terror, distress and loss. 

Scene. 

Departure for Jerusalem. 

Horsemen leading the way and in the rear. Maids in attendance 
ride on either side. In near distance Shunem,—Sheep led to 
pasture. 

A hi shag. Looking Forward. 

O Jerusalem, crown of the mountains, 

Thou sittest on thy hills, the Holy City; — 

Unto thee the tribes go up to worship God. 

Thou hast the royal throne of David. 

Turning and Looking Backward. 

But thou my beloved Shunem art more to me 
Than all the palaces of Jerusalem. 

Thy walls encircle quiet homes 

Where faith and peace rebuke ambition’s madness. 

O scenes of childhood’s blessed days, 

O ye sheep delivered to another’s care, 

— 6 — 


O my mother’s grave, visited by me no more, 

O my father sitting alone in silence, 

The gushing tears close the bright scene forever. 

Scene. 

The Arrival. 

A bishag. 

There is Jerusalem, Queen of the Land, 

The royal city, joy of the whole earth! 

Kings come from far to bring their honors 
And pay their yearly tribute. 

Ambassadors seek entrance at thy gates, 

And beg the privilege of commerce. 

Here is great David’s throne of justice, 

Dispensing judgment to the rich, and poor. 

Here is the tabernacle of our God. 

Here Jehovah is encamped among his people. 

Here the sacred relics of the exodus, 

The lamps forever burning with the fire from heaven, 
The shew bread loaves, promise of perpetual harvests, 
The Shekinah flashing the will of God 
With golden light upon the mercy seat,— 

And guarded by the wings of Cherubim. 

This is the place for pomp and splendor, 

The place for processions, pageants and passovers. 

My poor heart faints at thought of thee, Jerusalem. 

To dwell within these royal courts, 

The envy of the old and wrinkled, 

The hatred of the young and jealous, 

The gaze of all the royal princes, 

My poor heart trembles at the expectation. 

And as the ponderous gates inclose me round, 

I bid a long farewell to all the homely joys 
My former life has known. 

Home of my heart in Shunem, 

My exile is complete, Ah me, Ah me! 

— 7 - 


SCENE. 


Upper Chamber in the Palace. 

A bis hag to her maid ,, Beulah. 

The pageant of great David’s Burial 
Passeth beneath the palace windows. 

The young king Solomon in state, 

And all the princes robed in royal purple, 

Are girt with sackcloth underneath their robes, 
While all the people weep along the way. 

But one I see taller than the rest; 

His walk is like a king. 

Why have they placed him last of all the retinue? 
Why bows he his head and sadness and anger 
Mingle with his filial grief? 


Beulah. 

Hast thou not heard? He should be king. He is Adonijah. 
Haggith the sweet singer bore him to David. 

Older than Solomon the throne was in his right. 

But Bathsheba, the base Hittite, 

Stole her way to David’s favour, 

Making occasion for her husband’s murder; 

And by her bold intrigue, 

Displacing such a prince as he, 

Has placed that tyrant son of hers 
Upon the throne of Israel. 

So now the little Hittite, plumed with royal power, 

Holds Adonijah at his mercy. 

And as he made attempt to gain that seat of power 
Which was his right; short and harsh will be the mercy, 

Now that his father’s heart is still. 


— 8 — 


Scene. 

Room in the Palace. 

A bishag. 

O Beulah I have had a wondrous dream. 

I did but for a moment lay me down, 

And Lo! I seemed to stand at David’s tomb, 

And just beside the door there stood an apparition, 
Large and manly, strong and tall, fit to be a king. 
Surrounded by a halo which did inflame 
The darkness of my dream. 

And while I gazed in wonder, his countenance 
Took on the visage and demeanor 
Of that woeful prince who marched alone 
Behind the retinue of princes 
In David’s funeral procession; 

And all my heart went out to him in sorrow and in love. 
And as the vision faded from my sight, 

I lifted up my hand and lifted up my voice. 

Ere I could stay him he was gone, 

Mingling with the shadows of the night. 

And as he went he turned a look of woe 
Upon the place where David lay; but saw me not. 

I woke to find me here, O Beulah, 

And thy sweet arms around me to soothe 
The fierceness of my sorrow and dismay. 

Beulah 

And thou didst moan most piteously. 

A dream at sunset brings a revelation. 

A bishag. 

The burnings for the King will hold the retinue 
Till night hath fallen on the multitude. 

I will hasten unto Haggith, his mother, 

— 9 — 


To console her spirit for the disgrace 
Inflicted on her son, by this soft handed 
Upstart of a king, whose heart is harder 
Than the iron of the north, and cruel 
As the blood stained hands of Cain. 

Scene. 

House of Haggith. 

Adonijah Knocking. 

Haggith. 

Is it thee my son, and how so soon returned? 

Adonijah. 

It is I,—my mother, I came away 
When the long procession of Israel’s grief 
Had gathered round my father’s grave, 

And dark the cloud of burning incense, 

And sweet spices rose from the afflicted earth 
Into the blessed heavens where he is gone. 

There was no need of hired mourners, 

No lack of tears or songs of lamentations. 

Mine not being over welcome, I came to thee, 

With heavy footsteps and a heavier heart. 

For Solomon, selecting me for sneers, 

Set my station in the procession 

Ten paces in the rear of all the other princes. 

And having walked alone the distance to my father’s tomb. 
By a far circuit, fearing an executioner, 

I have returned to thee. 

Haggith. 

Come in my son, thou blessed of the Lord! 

Once more his hand has spared thee to my eyes. 

There sitteth one within, whose heart is one with mine. 

— 10 — 


My son, this is Abishag the Shunemite, 
Brought to the court against her wishes, 

From the sweet pastures of Issachar; 

To stand before the king in his declining days. 


Adonijah. 

My father’s messengers sought far and wide 
Among the fair daughters of Israel; 

And they found the soul of beauty, 

Like the dawn that rises o’er Gilead’s mountains. 
I have heard of thy proud spirit, 

Holding aloof amidst the blandishments, 

And favour seekers of the court. 


Abishag. 

Thou art the same,—the prince I saw marching alone 
While the great procession moved its mournful length, 
And in my heart I said, 

There is a prince worthy to be a king,— 

King of all the tribes of Israel. 

And when they told me of the petty spite of Solomon 
In placing thee alone for sneers, 

My heart went all aflame with indignation. 

Thou art the one I saw in sunset dream, 

As I reclined a moment on David’s empty couch, 

A dream that vanished and left my heart affrighted. 


Haggith. 

Speak not too freely. 

The walls and curtains of this house 
Have ears to hear, and tongues to bear 
The breath of speech to where swords 
Of jealousy are whetted to the edge of murder. 

— ll — 


A bis hag. 

I must hasten my return, 

Lest they who dog my steps should speak, 

And Solomon should limit me 

Of all the liberties I still enjoy. Exit. 

Haggith. 

Beauty and grace unite in the rare gifts of God, 

Added to a lofty spirit, well worthy the beauty of her face 
And form, illumined by the brightness of her soul. 

Adonijah. 

Speak not of charms;—thy words and mine 
Do but dim the luster that her presence 
Has spread upon the vision of my soul. 

Could I but have this damsel for my own, 

Td let a hundred kingdoms pass to those who seek such trouble. 
And in a hundred long processions 
I’d trudge alone humiliation’s dust; 

And brave the gazing eyes of multitudes. 

My mother thou knowest the women of the court. 

Go thou to her who has the most avail with Solomon. 

And let her intercede for me; 

And scepters, crowns, and powers shall be forgot; 

While she returns with me to Shunem’s quiet hills; 

And for her father I will labor out the debt, 

In spite of scorching suns and nightly frosts, 

As Jacob did, cheered by Rachel’s love. 

Haggith . 

I will now go to Bathsheba, mother of the king, 

And will persuade her to interpose for thee. 

Our sons were rivals for the throne; 

But we be friends sincere and faithful. 

Her heart is tender after David’s burial, 

And Solomon her son, seated securely, 

Hath cause for fear no more. 


— 12 — 


Scene. 

Bathsheba alone. Enter Maid. 


Maid. 

Thy sister Haggith waiteth at the door. 


Bathsheba. 


Bring her in. 

Haggith and Bathsheba embracing. 


Haggith. 

The greatest of earthly kings has passed before us. 


Bathsheba. 

The best of husbands shall bless our eyes no more. 


Haggith. 

My song is hushed forever; 

Now he is gone who gave it inspiration. 

Bathsheba. Sitting. 

Sit down my sister, a common sorrow levels all distinctions. 
Haggith. 

It ill becomes my humble state, 

To sit in presence of the mother of the King. 

And if an equal I would stand until I do my errand. 


Bathsheba. 

I listen. Speak without restraint. 

-13 — 


Haggith. 


Long live the King! 

All the people do confirm the choice, prophets, 
Priests, and warriors, all approve of David’s will, 
That Solomon thy son should reign in Israel. 

This being settled all things may now be peaceful. 

My son Adonijah, supposing that the kingdom 
Would fall to the oldest prince betook him, 
Foolishly to have himself proclaimed, 

Without first consulting David his father. 

And when thy son was crowned king, 

Adonijah sought the sanctuary in fear; 

From whence in clemency, King Solomon 
Sent him away to his own house unhurt. 

There he has stayed in quiet until this day 
The great procession went to see his father buried. 


Tonight the damsel who was brought from Shunem 
To wait upon King David, came to visit me, 

And mingle tears with mine. 

And Adonijah, seeing her, 

His eyes were smitten with her presence; 

And he declares that if she could be his 
He would depart the court forever, 

Disclaim all birthrights and all ambitions. 

He would return with her to where her father 
Waits her coming, and well content, 

Would tend with her those flocks of sheep 
That call for her, along the grassy hills 
That front her native city; 

And prune with her the vines that hang 
Along the slopes of Shunem’s clustered vales. 

This that he may dwell upon her beauty, 

Bask in the sunshine of her love, 

And hear the sweetness of her answering voice. 


—14 — 


He is well content and well assured, 

That more than royal joy may come to them, 
Who dwell together in a lot like this. 


Bathsheba. 

What is thy request and it shall be done. 

Thy wish and it shall be performed. 

Haggith. 

May it please the Queen; 

And may I dare to ask that thou should’st go 
Into the presence of thy son the King, informing him 
Of these the words of my son, and ask for us small people, 
This small request, that will make happy these three, 

His loyal subjects. 

And may the Lord promote the errand of thy feet. 

So shall the blessings of the humble rest upon thy head. 


Bathsheba. 

I will do thy errand with good assurance of success. 
Tomorrow after the midday meal I will attend 
When he ascends the throne, and all the people 
Come with confidence to judgment. 

But sit thee down while fruits and wine 
Refresh us after such a day of sorrow. 


Haggith. 

A little cluster will suffice. 

No wine shall pass my lips, 

While David’s memory lingers in my soul. 

Now I must go for Adonijah waits to hear what thou hast spoken. 
May God protect thee in unbroken sleep. 

— 15 — 


Scene. 

Solomon in Judgment Hall. 

Guard. 

May it please the King, a messenger waiteth at the door. 


Bring him in. 


Solomon. 


Messenger. 

Bathsheba the royal mother standeth in the court. 


Solomon 

Conduct her in.—I Kings 2-19. 

Set her a place beside the throne of judgment. 

What is thy request, my mother, and what thy wish? 
For thou hast somewhat in thy mind to ask. 


Bathsheba. 

I have a light request and easy granted. 

And I do pledge thee of thy clemency, 

To grant the faithful performance of my words. 


Solomon. 

Speak on my mother. It ill beseemeth me to say thee nay. 
My power to give I got from thee. Solomon’s Song 3, 11. 

Bathsheba. 

May the King live forever. 

Yester’een Haggith, coming unto me, 

Requested for her son Adonijah, 

That he receive the hand of Abishag; 

That thy royal sanction make the bethrothal sure; 

Receiving this of thy forbearance, 

He would depart to live with her in Issachar, 

Among the quiet hills that border down upon 
The little sea of Cinnereth. He would— 


— 16 — 


Solomon , Kicking at his Rohes. 

Why dost thou ask Abishag for Adonijah? 

And why not ask the kingdom also? 

It would have saved thee stratagem 
Intrigue and danger to have let events 
Already started take their way. 

Being the older brother and of royal presence, 
The people would have taken him for king. 

I swear by him who sitteth on that higher throne, 
“Against his own life has Adonijah spoken.” 

Hast thou not a better errand to my presence? 

Thou couldst intermeddle in my father’s plans; 
But he is buried now. His affairs are closed. 

And tho’ thou wert a thousand times my mother, 
Thou couldst not meddle into mine. 


Bathsheba. 


Thy brother’s life is in thy hands; 
But let me now remind thee 
Of that sword of many bloods, 
Denounced against thy father’s house, 
By the great prophet Nathan’s vision, 
For blood of innocent Urijah; 

Who had no greater guilt 
But that he had too fair a wife. 

Solomon. 


Exit. 


Guardsman, go forth and call Beniah.—I Kings 2-25. 
Beniah. 

Here I am. And may the King live forever. 


Solomon 

Give safe conduct to Adonijah to the valley of Hinnom. 
Leave there his body; but bring his head. 

— 17 — 


Scene. 

Solomon’s Banquet Hall—Guests and Guards. 

Guard. 

And may it please the king,— 

Abishag asketh favor of the audience of a word. 

Solomon. 

Admit the wit and beauty of our court. 

Abishag {erect.) 

It hath been told, a sword went forth from thee 
To take the life of Adonijah. 

I am now come to ask the favour, 

That his dead body and his dissevered head 
Be given unto me, that I may bury them 
With princely honors, due to his exalted birth. 

Solomon. 

It is true. I sent Beniah and he has brought his head; 
And it is placed beneath my judgment throne, 

That they may see who would despise my mercy. 
Conspiring against my claim as king,— 

And by my mercy being sent away in peace, 

Few days had passed ere he aspired to look on thee, 
Speaking his request against his life. 

The shameful valley of the outcast dead 
Hath claimed his body. 

Abishag . 

Thy claims, O usurper of an usurped throne. 

Are based on shames, intrigues and bloods. 

The tribe of Benjamin, the beloved son 
Of the beloved wife of Jacob, 

Gave us great Saul, the hero of Jabesh Gilead. 

— 18 — 


Then thy father David came and took away the throne 
Into the tribe of Judah, Judah son of Leah, 

Who stole her sister’s couch. 

Then Pharez came, son of Tamar, 

Rahab also of Jericho the cursed, 

And Ruth of Moab, and then Bathsheba, 

Thy mother, worse than all the others, 

Adding to her intrigue dark occasion 
For her husband’s murder, 

That she might be thy mother. 

And such as these must go before 

To taint the blood, ere such a monster as thyself 

Could have a mother base enough to mother thee, 

A father weak enough to set thee on the throne, 

And give thy hands a chance to imitate the hands of Cain. 
And wilt thou prop thy throne and make it steadfast 
On the skulls of men like these? 

Joab, thy father’s kinsman and thy father’s friend, 

Who saved thy father’s life, thy father’s throne, 

Joab’s head is there beneath that throne. 

Shemei, grandson of Saul and heir to that same throne, 

His head is there beneath that throne. 

And now thy brother’s head 

Hath joined that great companionship. 

Perhaps forsooth thy executioner is here 
To add my head to that high company; 

That the four corner’s of thy throne’s foundation 
May find a fit support. 

And wilt thou make thy seat secure 
Upon such ghastly, rolling, golgolim ? ! ! 

Solomon. 

Take her. 


She is a fury. 


Guards . 


A bis hag to the Guard. 

Give me the javelins. Snatching them and pushing him back. 

Exit. 


Guard. 

The door is bolted behind her. 


Solomon. 

Hither, by this other door. Hasten. 

Scene. 

Room in Palace. 


A bis hag to Beulah. 

Come thou with me. 

Snatch from King David’s couch the purple. 

Take a cloak. The night is chill. 

My cursing has delayed our steps 

Until I fear we may not find his body whole. 

Alas it never can be whole again. 

Not by that door. They will follow us there. 

Here is the passage. We must hasten. 

Scene. 

At the City Gate, Abishag and Beulah approaching. 

Guard. 

Who here so late,—and maidens! 

Abishag. 

We be maidens going forth to meet the bridegroom. 

[A man who hoped to be a bridegroom.] 

Guard. 

[ do not understand. 

— 20 — 


Abishag. 

Thou knowest enough. Expect not our return 
Until six days have passed. 

Guard. 

Pass out and may the guests be many, 

The feast be merry, and the bride be blest. 

A bis hag to Beulah. 

A bridegroom, yes, reft of his head. 

The body to the dogs. Theirs to be the feast. 
The bride be blest! The bride be blest! — 

If it be blest to be a widow before she be a bride. 

Scene—Hinnom. 

Beulah. 

The place is dreadful, but for thee I come. 

A bishag. 

Thy love is sweet to me at such a time as this. 
Seest where those eyes are gleaming? 

Off, dogs,—Here it is, his body. 

Lament. 

O feet that carried him so stately! 

O shoulders broad, so lordly lifted! 

O hands all pale, that should have borne a septrel 
O soul departed into Paradise! 

Where love is ever young, 

And puny tyrants never intervene. 

Be strong my heart that I refrain from cursing. 

Now lift the precious burden tenderly; 

And bear it to the foot of yonder wall, 

The better to defend it from the dogs. 

The jackal has the head already in his soft den. 
Where he enjoys a cheap supremacy. 

— 21 — 


Exeunt. 


Bare thou his limbs, I take the breast. 

Here is the place. Lay him here. 

Bring hither now the purple robe; 

And we will cover his cold corse, with royal honors. 
Denied the kingdom of his father David, 

He hath the kingdom of my heart, 

More valued by his true heart 
Than all the kingdoms of the earth. 

The third watch of the night will soon begin. 

O my faithful Beulah, I shall keep watch, 

Until the pale cold moon rises over Olivet. 


Beulah. 

My limbs are weary with the toil of yesterday. 

Our haste this night hath wasted all my strength. 

I will recline a moment by the wall but not to sleep. 

The dark deeds the day hath seen and 
Darker still that may await the morrow, 

Scare my heart with terror too sharp for sleep. 

And when the hour is past I’ll watch till thou art rested. 

A bis hag. 

Rested! rested! I nevermore shall rest, 

Until I lay my body down in the same dust, 

And till my worn and weary soul, 

Wandering on the wide confines of eternity, 

Shall meet with his. Then rest! Then rest! 

O my sweet spouse, my prince, 

King of Israel for an hour, king of my heart forever, 
Thou didst give thy love, thy life for me. 

I hear footsteps come along the wall. 

Take up thy spear while I go challenge him. 

Who comes? Have the sleuth hounds of Solomon 
Found out the trail, chasing us to this extremity? 

— 22 — 


Nathan the Prophet. 

It is Nathan comes in peace, fear not. 

I heard the voice of lamentation, 

From my house upon the wall, 

And am come forth to know what bitterness 
Keeps two maidens waking and wailing 
Among the horrid shades of Hinnom. 


Abishag. 

And thou art Nathan, court prophet to Solomon, 
And knowest not the things that happened there 
Since yester morn? 


Nathan. 

Cares of my house kept me three days abroad. 
Tell me the story. 


Abishag. 

And thou wilt tell the tale to Solomon. 


Nathau. 

Thy coming here and all thy words 
Shall be a faithful covenant between us. 


Abishag. 

Seest thou this purple robe, and underneath 
The outline of a headless body. 


Nathan. 


I see. 


23 — 


A bishag. 

Then gaze in reverence while I speak. 

King David had a wife, Haggith, the sweet singer. 

To her was born a son, a child 

To make the joy of any mother’s heart complete. 

He grew a man to well fulfill the promise of his youth. 
After Absalom, the kingdom was his right. 

But when he sought to take that kingdom, 

Long delayed and then in danger of conspiracy, 

And while he lingered at the annointing feast, 

A swift conspiracy arose within the city, 

And Bathsheba, the Hittite, set Solomon her son 
Upon the throne of Israel. 

And Adonijah, son of Haggith, fearing for his life, 

Sought sanctuary before the altar of the Lord. 

Then Solomon, big with his recent power, 

Sent and dragged him before his throne; 

And in mock mercy sent him 

In vile servillance to his own house. —I Kings 1-53. 

I am Abishag, the Shunemite, 

I should have been his Queen. 

With a great love he loved me. 

Desparing of his kingdom and his right, 

His true heart loyal to his love, 

Sought to rescue me from the wreck of his fallen fortunes. 
And even Bathsheba, the arch conspirator, 

Her heart relented to his piteous appeal, 

Consenting in his stead to ask for me for Adonijah, 

But Solomon, breaking the pledge that he had made 
To his own mother, and taking counsel 
Of his desires and hate, and jealousy, 

And watching eager for occasion, 

Sent down Beniah to take his head. 

And now that ghastly trophy doth adorn 
The platform of his judgment throne; 

While his red blood spreads a new blot 
Upon the earth of black Hinnom. 

— 24 — 


His body here. 

The while his mother, lost in grief, 

Refuses consolation, refuses food, refuses light. 

Ah, ’tis a grevious thing, this being prince and princess. 
And we have come, my maid and I, 

To rescue Adonijah’s body from this place. 

And bear it away to decent burial. 


Nathan. 

I know a secret tomb driven in the solid rock 
Where he may rest secure. 

When the old moon pale and wan 
Lights up that side of Mount Moriah, 

I will help thee to bear him thither. 

Thy heart is sore by the brother-murder 
Done to thy beloved;nor can I blame thy bitterness. 
But while we wait the rising moon 
Permit a friend to speak a word to thee,— 

A friend who now befriending thee 
Risks his own head to that same place, 

Beneath the throne of Solomon the King. 


Ahisha^. 

Well may my words be bitter, 

When the great kingdom comes to this; and he who rules 
Begins his reign in tyranny and blood; 

When a poor maiden torn from her father’s house 
To gratify a court, finds damage such as this. 

What though the youthful king be graced with 
Every gift that God can give to kings, 

Endued with wisdom from God’s inspiration, 

Dowered with provision of vast stones 
Quarried for stately buildings, adorned with cedar, 

With store of silver and provision of fine gold, 

— 25 — 


With gems of adamant, of onyx and topaz, 

Chariots of ivory paved with words of love. (Song 3-10), 
Noble horses decked with purple, 

Golden shields for show, in useless armouries; 

And all procured by hard taxations, 

Conscriptions, task-masters and whips. (First Kings 12-11). 

And what avails the splendor of a king 
Who always takes and never gives; — 

Takes homage, treasure, service, blood and life; — 

Who always takes and never gives?! 

But as I cannot rest I’ll take the time to listen. 


Nathan . 

All human things are subject unto error. 

All human splendor is but rubbish heaped high. 

All human power degenerates to tyranny. 

The great patriarchs who lived before us 
Failed of the goodness they were set to prove. 

Noah and Lot failed out because of wine. 

Abraham denied his wife before the Pharaoh of Egypt. 
He drove Hagar and her child out of his house 
To wander in Beersheba’s wilderness, 

While he lived like a prince at home. 

Jacob escheated his brother’s birthright to himself, 

And Moses and Aaron, Samuel and Saul, 

Gideon and Barak, Jepthah and David, 

All the great ancients failed and fell. 

Nor need we seek among the men of other ages 
To find the men who fell and failed. 

Our life repeats the same sad parable. 

I myself, Nathan the prophet, 

Although I could reprove King David to his face, 
Lured by the blandishments of royal favour, 

Have helped to seat this Hittite 

Upon the throne of Israel; and now I see 

— 26 — 


A reign of tyranny and blood will follow. 

Nor must my voice alone confess my fault, 

For thou thyself hast screamed thy curses 
In the startled ears of Solomon the King. 

But faint thou not O daughter of affliction, 

For God who sees our human hearts, 

And all the passions of our erring life 
Hath made provision for our safe escape. 

He from the solid heavens has given us faith; 

And having pledged his word confirmed it by an oath, 

Sworn by himself because he could swear by no greater. 
Noah believed and was delivered from the flood. 

Lot believed and was rescued out of Sodom. 

Abraham, and was called the friend of God. 

Leah heard the promise, believed the word, 

And was made mother of the royal tribe. 

And Tamar and Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba, 

Daughters of the heathen, aliens from the law. 

Were chosen of God because he chooses faith,— 

Faith that gives up all to be in upon the promises. 

And as I am a prophet of Jehovah, 

These names shall be written alone 

Upon the records of those women who by faith 

Attained to be mothers of Messiah. 

Tamar gave everything away to be a mother 
In that family that had the promises. 

Ruth came down from Moab’s mountains 
With Naomi, heir of Judah’s promises, saying, 

“Thy God shall be my God, 

“Thy people shall be my people, where thou diest 
“Will I die, and there will I be buried. 

“God do so to me and more also 

“If aught shall separate between me and thee.” 

So she joined herself to the people and the promises of God. 
Rahab gave up her city to those who came 
Into the promised land conquering by faith. 

— 27 — 


“So she saved her house/’ becoming a mother in Judah. 

These names, recorded on the page of sacred history 

Among the mothers of Messiah, shall repeat 

To coming generations, the story of their faith. Math I. 3-5-6. 

And this Bathsheba, daughter of the heathen 

Whom we failed to disposess, this daughter 

Of the uncircumcized, hearing often of the promise 

Made to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob, 

To Judah to Jesse and to David, 

Coveted the high distinction 
Of their fulfillment in her house, 

Intrigued with shame and murder, 

And set her son upon the throne of Israel, 

Making him heir of the promises, setting her name 
Among the mothers of Him who was to come. 

When God, choosing among the families of earth, 

Chose out our fathers as his own; 

To keep alive the knowledge of the true God, 

And make the promise of Messiah sure, 

He well foreknew how prone to lapse they were, 

How sure to prove apostate to the blind gods 
Of Moab and Ammon, Philistia and Zidon, 

Gods helpless and inanimate, 

Who could not see the sins of men and punish. 

He well foreknew their works would never win the promise. 

So he left to gentile women the task to prove 
That faith could win where their own virtue failed,— 

That faith could rise above the faults 
Of weak humanity, triumph into blessedness, 

And shame to silence all the vaunted virtues of the chosen. 

For they who win shall win by faith alone. 

So faithful Abraham shall be a blessing, 

And all the faithful share in his inheritance, 

And all the families of the earth be blest. 


— 28 — 


Now the pale moon glimmers behind Olivet. 
After her the sun. We must hasten. 

The burden of this dear dust is great 
For two worn and weary maidens. 

I have two stalwart sons. Watch ye here 
I will go call them to our help.— 


Scene. 

Nathan 

These are my sons. 

I have told them who ye are and what the duty. 

Tie the four corners of this robe 
Unto the handles of these javelins. 

Now lay the precious corse thereon. 

Abishag. 

But whither will ye bear him? 

Nathan . 

I have my own new tomb hewn in the rock, 

At the foot of Olivet. Thither away my sons. 

Scene. 

The Toomb. 

Nathan. 

Bear him within. Lay him here upon this bench, 
Where I myself had planned to lie. 

Now roll the stone and set the seal, 

Which even Solomon shall not dare to break. 

I am the prophet Nathan. 


— 29 — 


But whither will ye go my daughters? 

Heroic in your love and daring; 

Since this adventure of burial in purple 
What Solomon the king intended for the dogs. 


A bishag. 

To go again back to the court, is to meet the mercy 
Solomon has dealt to him whom we have buried. 

To return to my father is to be discovered. 

The virgin daughters of Gilead have a custom 
To go each year upon their desert mountains, 

And bewail the virginity of Jepthah’s daughter, 

Whose young life went out to satisfy her father’s vow. 
Four days they mourn that she must die in her virginity, 
And childless miss the blessing of Messiah’s motherhood. 
After the Sabbath the days begin, 

And ere the sun shall rise upon Jerusalem, 

I shall descend the eastern slopes of Olivet, 

On my way to cross the shallow fords of Jordan; 

And while they search the palace and Jerusalem, 

I shall be far along the way, to join the camp 
Of wailing maidens, whose voices echo 
Through the rocky steeps of Gilead’s mountains. 


Beulah. 

Thou speakest only of thyself. 
And wouldst thou go alone? 


Abishag. 

And wouldst thou go with me, a fugitive 
Wandering wide, unfriended and unfed; 
Like Hagar fainting in the wilderness? 

- 30 - 


Beulah . 

I will go with thee, though all malicious power, 
All bitter hate, all fierce jealousy, 

Pursue thy footsteps with relentless search. 

I will share thy fate to whatso’er it leads. 

A bis hag. 

Such love and such devotion warms my heart 
With gratitude too deep for words, 

And well deserve a better recompense 
Than my dark fortune promises. 

But we must hasten or the early risers 

Meet us on the way and make report within the city. 

To you my helpers brave and true 

I speak a gratitude which lasts forever. 

And fare ye well. 

Nathan. 

Farewell, my daughters; may God provide 
As he provides for his beloved. 

Scene. 

Mountains of Gilead. 

Camp of Wailing Maidens. 
Abishag and Beulah approaching. 

First Maiden. 

Who are ye so late returning from your song? 
What inspiration holds you so late? 

Second Maiden. 

Ye are no singers of inspired laments. 

Ye are clad in courtly garments. 

Your lank faces and faint eyes tell of weariness, 
Haste, thirst and hunger. Who are ye? 

- 31 - 


Ahisha?. 

We are fugitives from whence we dare not say. 

For if they find us out our fate will be more sad 
Than the calamity that came to her whom ye mourn. 

But you may be assured well 

That we are true and honorable maidens, 

Fleeing to your protection for shelter, water and a morsel. 
It is a great pity that brings you to these solitudes 
To mourn the fate of one who lost her highest joy; 

We too have lost our hopes and lost our joy; 

And may lose more if ye betray us. 


Third Maiden. 

Why all this talk, come in, come in, sisters. 

Safe is the heart that opens to distress. 

Blest is the hand that quick responds. 

My companions, these are in dire need, 

Desert thirst, hunger and weariness 
Are written in their faces. 

Come in, ye blessed of the Lord; — 

Cool water from, the spring to quench your thirst, 
To wash your bruised feet. 

Cheese and bread, raisins and dates, oil and wine,— 
Our stores are ample, our gifts are free. 

Time then for talk when comfort gives you breath. 


A bishag. 

Your hospitality reveals your hearts. 

So be the Lord as generous to you my sisters. 


— 32 — 


Scene. 


Morning. 

A Cliff on a Mountain Side, with Echoing Cliffs in Front. 
Assembled Maidens of the Camp, Abishag and Beulah 
with them. 

Antiphonal Lament. 

Leader. 

O daughter of Gilead’s conquering hero. 

Echo. Conquering hero. 

Chorus. 

Thy prayer went up to God, 

And brought the victory to Israel’s hosts. 

Echo. Israel’s hosts. 

Leader. 

The mighty men of Ammon were driven 
Beyond the River of Arnon, 

Defeated and conquered forever. 

Echo. Conquered forever. 

Chorus. 

O virgin daughter of Gilead’s hero, 

Thy voice has ceased to waken the sad echoes. 

Thy spirit ascending in the flame 
No longer lingers among these mountains. 

Echo. These mountains. 

Leader. 

Thy father drove the tyrants from these hills; 

With his fearful arrows and sharp sword he drove them 
Across the Arnon, across the stream of the south. 

Moab was afraid when he saw the slaughter of Ammon. 

He trembled when he saw them fallen down slain. 

Echo. Fallen down slain. 

— 33 — 


Chorus. 

Jephtha returned in triumph from the battle,— 
In triumph with spoils of princes and kings, 

With the glory of Israel’s redemption. 

He came to keep his vow, an offering to God. 

Echo. Offering to God. 

Leader. 

His triumph was turned into mourning, 

His joy was turned to bitterness; 

For his daughter was doomed as the victim, 

His only daughter, the stay of his household. 

Echo. Stay of his household. 


Chorus. 

She came forth with songs to meet him, 

To meet her father returning in glory. 

Her fingers awoke the strings of the lyre, 

Her feet moved in the dance with joyful steps. 

Echo. With joyful steps. 

Leader 

She sang the song of victory, the song of joy. 

Song. 

The enemy is fallen, the oppressor is slain. 
The mountains of Gilead are free from his rod. 
The enemy is fallen, the oppressor is slain, 

The mountains of Gilead are free from his rod. 
While she sang the hero was pale with dismay. 
The father trembled in the presence of his child. 

Echo. Presence of his child. 


— 34 — 


Chorus . 

It had gone forth from his mouth. 

He had spoken the vow with his lips. 

“Whom I meet shall be the sacrifice; — 

The one coming from my house, my burnt offering.” 

Echo. My burnt offering. 

Leader. 

O daughter of Jephtha, thy song is ended. 

Thy joy has vanished in sadness. 

Thou wentest forth to thy mountains of wailing. 

Thy virginity was the theme of thy woe. 

The winds received the sorrow of thy voice, 

The echoes returned them again and again, 
Redoubling the sounds of thy lamentations. 

Echo. Thy lamentations. 


Lament of Jephtha! s Daughter. 

I have failed of the hope of Israel’s mothers. 

To be the mother of Messiah is not for me. 

I perish in my youth 

My eager triumph was the undoing of my hope. 

The promise of Him who is to come, 

Made to our fathers in far off years, 

In my posterity can never be fulfilled. 

I have reached the measure of my days. 

Childless I go to fulfill my father’s vow. 

But certain as the throne of God in Heaven, 

And sure as the mercy of his love, 

So surely shall the promise be fulfilled. 

Other women blest with that exalted motherhood 

Shall have their names recorded in the volumes of the ages 

My name shall never be recorded. 

Israel shall not be thwarted of the promise, 

— 35 — 


Tho’ in life’s sweet prime I lose my life,— 
And losing miss the joy supreme. 

Echo. Joy supreme. 

So sang the daughter of sorrow and of faith. 
Hard were the rocks and steep the cliffs 
That answered back her grief. 

Cold was the dew and sharp the desert thorn. 
Her filial heart in sweet obedience, 

Returned her to her father and her fate. 

O virginity, fruitless and sad, thy faith 
And thy surrender pass down the ages, 

And wailing maidens celebrate thy sorrows 
In everlasting song. 


Same Scene , 'Ten Years Later. 

Maidens of Gilead returning to the wailing place, 
To lament for Jeptha’s daughter, met by 
Abishag and Beulah. 


Leader. 

We greet you heartily after another year. 
How fared ye in the long days of the summer? 
How passed the sharp days of winter? 


Abishag. 

Our cabin of rough earth and thatch gives shelter. 
These rocks yield honey, these trees yield balm. 

The work is hard, the gathering far and perilous. 
The price is good. We have not wanted. 

Our garden yields a little comfort; 

Its flowers are few. 

The garden of our beauty we have not kept. 

We have no use. Song 1, 6. 

— 36 — 


Gileadite Maiden. 


We have news to tell; 

For Solomon in all his glory longs for thee. 

And he has composed a song and named it 

“Song of the Son%s of Solomon .” 

And in that song he urges thee, 

With solemn protestation of his love, 

To leave thy hiding place and come to him. Song 6 -13. 
And share the pleasures of his royal favour. 

This song is published in his dominion, 

Hoping you might hear and heed the invitation. 

He writes a thousand boastings of his glory 
And all his splendor be at thy command,— 

To make thy heart dismiss its sorrows. 

He saith that sixty wives and eighty concubines 

And virgins without number 

Are waiting to be called into his presence royal. 

And he forgets them all for thee. 

Thou art one, the only one, Song 6-8-9. 

A bishag. 

O daughters of Gilead, are these the tidings? 

My life is full of sharp calamities. 

I am pursued by dangers and griefs 
Beyond my fortitude to bear. 

But all the dread and all the dangers dark 
Through which may pathway leads 
Are not to be compared to this,— 

This Solomon, reaching out for me. 

Torn from my home, reft from my spouse, 

Scared into exile; I had hoped he might forget me. 

But when I hear that he remembers, 

My heart is shaken with a dreadful terror; 

— 37 — 


For well I know his subtile cunning, 

The pride he takes in his success. 

Protected from his headsman, 

By your faithful silence and your sacred place, 

We have lived secure, thinking the despot 
Might find amusement more ready to his hand. 

One thing consoles me. 

The precipice is near my cabin door. 

A few swift steps and there’s relief. 

Same Scene after Forty Years. 

Mourning maidens of Gilead arriving at the old camp, met 
by Abishag and Beulah. 

Same Old Leader. 

Blessed be the Lord of Hosts who hath kept your lives secure 
To meet us once again with welcome smiles and glad hands. 

Abishag. 

Welcome again ye sisters of Jeptha’s daughter. 

And welcome ye youthful ones, 

Who n’er before have visited this place. 

Welcome to this sad duty,— 

To sing again the story of the ancient times 
When war’s rough trumpet called fierce chiefs 
To fateful struggle of the mighty men; 

The times when maidens sang the victory. 

While thousands heaped the field; 

And blood-stained weapons told the dreadful story. 

Be not astonished at our looks and faces. 

What did ye look to see, my little sisters? 

Sixty years of this rough world, and forty of this desert, 
Wrinkled with winds and black with suns; Song 1: 5. 

The soft beauty of our youth is gone forever. 

— 38 — 


We do bemoan the fate of Jeptha’s daughter 
And also our own, hopeless as hers. 

Come on, and hasten to the place of echoes. 

Wild winds shall waft the minstrelsy. 

Rough rocks shall answer again and again. 

My spirit moves to the numbers of the song. 

Song. 

O daughter of Gilead’s hero, thy red blood 
Stained the dark rocks of thy father’s altar. 

Thy sad spirit ascended with the smoke, 

Escaping at the wounds of thy bosom. 

Thy bones mingled with the ashes 
And swift winds wafted them away. 

Thy faith and thy constancy shall endure forever. 

Thy father’s vow destroyed his house, 

And emptiness is written on his gates. 

Thou hast left a blessing to the daughters of Gilead forever, 
And the promise of Messiah shall not fail. 

As for me I live on in my desolation; 

My heart broods upon the sorrows of despair. 

Leader. 

Speak not of despair, for Solomon is dead. 

They are departed from power who seek thy life. 

Another king reigns in Judah, another in Israel. 

Arise and return with us in peace; 

And go to thy father’s house in joy. 

Abishag. 

Blessed are ye with the blessing of the Lord; 

And blessed are the tidings that ye bear. 

We will return with you to our own, 

To the land of the possessions of Issachar, 

To the hills of pleasant pastures, 

To my father who sitteth alone in old age, 

To my mother’s grave, unvisited by me so long. 

— 39 — 


O Beulah, thy faithful heart has shared with me 
The savage dangers of these mountain wastes, 

And worse dangers of the city whence we fled. 

Our faces are old and tanned with wind. 

But thy sweet love is ever fresh and young. 

Thy voice is pleasant to my soul. 

Thine eyes are bright with the gleam of love. 

Thou shalt be my sister, my father’s daughter. 

Thou shalt share the heritage of our ancestors, 

The pleasant city shall be our home. 

Beulah. 

I have shared with thee the splendour of the palace 
The sharp dangers of the flight, 

The dwelling in this place; 

Thy pleasure has been my joy, 

To share thy toil has been my life. 

Thy generous heart rewards me, 

And thy free hand bestows an equal share. 

When the wailing days are over 

Our return shall be with these our sisters. 

Keen expectation shall add speed to our feet. 

Farewell little lodge in the mountains, 

Built by our hands and sheltering so long, 

Built on high like the nest of an eagle. 

Farewell ye forests of trees dripping balm, 

Ye shrubs yielding spices and myrrh, 

We depart with joy to the sweet hills of Issachar; 
And hope shall lend wings to our feet. 

Scene. 

The Return. 

A bis hag. 

These are the old familiar places. 

How small are the hills! 

The city, can it be so little! 

Here is our father’s place. 


— 40 — 


Knocking — 

What! A stranger in our house ! 

Where is mv father? Are the sheep brought in? 

Stranger. 

Who are ye asking for a father? 

Abishag. 

O Beulah, what has happened unto us? 

Beulah. 

Much can happen in forty years of absence. 

Stranger. 

We know you not. Speak out and make the matter plain. 

Abishag. 

We be daughters of Michael, owner of this house, 
Returning from long exile, having fled the court. 

Solomon is dead and we return seeking our father. 

Doth he yet live, why doth he not come with haste, 

Hearing our footsteps with joy? 

Stranger. 

Your father, we know not who he was. 

Sent here by Solomon ten years ago, 

Empty and desolate we found this house. 

And here have lived five years beyond the Jubilee. 

And we may live until another Jubilee 
Restores the ancient claims of heirs. 

Our aged neighbor in another street 
Remembers all the people of the city. 

My son shall show you to her house. 

— 41 — 


Neighbor. 

Come in ye blessed of the Lord. 

The night comes on and ye look worn and weary. 
And tears are welling in your eyes. 

Come in and I will set you bread and clusters. 

A bis hag. 

We are daughters of Michael— 

Neighbor. 

Indeed! 

A bishag. 

And we will neither eat nor rest 
Until we hear the story of our father’s life,— 

Or it may be of his death. 


Neighbor. 

O daughter of affliction, I knew thy father well, 

Sad was the story of his life and death. 

His only daughter was fairest and sweetest 
Of all the maidens in King David’s realm. 

And David’s servants took her to his court 
To minister to him in his declining days. 

Her father, hearing tidings often was well content. 
Then came the news she was betrothed to Adonijah, 
One of the princes, King David’s son; 

That Solomon had sent in jealous rage, 

And taken off his head, leaving his body in Hinnom. 
And that fair damsel in her grief and wrath 
Entered the banquet hall of Solomon, 

Hissing her curses and her mocking, 

In his astonished ears, accustomed only to adulation,— 
And, pushing back his guards, escaped. 

Long search was made through the kingdom 

— 42 - 


And far into foreign lands, no vestage found. 

And finding not the bones of Adonijah, 

The searchers thought that she had caused his burial- 
Her father’s house was watched; 

And he was dungeoned in the house of Solomon, 
Wherein he lingered his sad life away, 

Calling the name of his sweet daughter always. 

His flocks were scattered, his vines unpruned, 

His fields were trampled and overgrown, 

His house stood open to the wind; 

Until these strangers took possession, 

And hold the place until another Jubilee. 

May God in Heaven have pity on your lot. 


A bishag. 

Ah me! Ah me! Ah me! 

Cheered by so fair an expectation, 

Once in my dark life I hoped, for one brief moment, 

Now dashed beyond recovery. 

That tyrant envied me my little all, 

And with sharp cunning hath bereft me quite. 

His greedy hand hath snatched my utmost hope. 

This is because I despised his royal glory. 

That I despised himself and all that he called value; 

And by my scorn I made him know, 

That virtue was what he lacked of all the gifts 
That God could give to men. 

O Beulah, alas, that my dark destiny 
Should bring thee into fellowship of such a woe! 

Full well was I named Abishag 

When my father gave me up to David’s messengers. 

Elgin, Oregon. Nov. 18, 1914. 


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